40 And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him. 41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. 43 And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?” 50 And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
What an interesting bit of information we have here. My focus has been to understand what we can learn from what the scriptures are teaching us and applying that to our lives, purposefully. These verses are so filled with wonderful items that there is no way we can dive into everything we see. SO, what can we take from these verses? Jesus is God. What a comfort this is to me in my daily life (as I hope it is to you too).
First, v.40. 52 show that Jesus was young, fragile, and grew just as every man does. God can relate to us in our lives. Young men want to know how it is they are to act or where they fit in, Jesus was young once too. Jesus did not struggle knowing how He was to act or how to fit in simply because He was committed to worshiping God the Father with everything in His life. When we truly commit our lives to worshiping God the Father with our lives, we will know how to live our lives, He will show us. Even though Jesus was a man, He did not sin but He WAS tempted as we are.
Mary and Joseph took their family to the Feast of the Passover every year. We complain at times about going to families homes over holidays and such, can you imagine the trek it was from Nazareth to Jerusalem every year?! This was not only the custom, but the expectation that the Lord put forth was to participate in the feast. Mary and Joseph followed this word.
Jesus also followed the custom by going to the feast at the appropriate age. When He was there He went and hung out with the priests and religious leaders. They were “amazed at His understanding and answers” v.47. Furthermore, Jesus enjoyed being in “His Father’s House.” Jesus not only followed the Jewish custom, but also enjoyed listening to the teachers, as well as teaching them what He knew (which is clearly more than they knew). Jesus knew more than them, yet He listened. Jesus was interested in talking and discussing His Father’s Word. That was His business.
Mary Rebuked Jesus. Jesus was her child here on Earth, God’s only Son. Jesus was no normal man, yet He SUBMITTED to His parents here on Earth. As a child there is no excuse for not submitting to your parents. You claim to follow Christ, then submit to your parents, even when you do not want to. Do you think the best thing for Jesus was to not be in the temple? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, He listened and obeyed His parents.
Just food for thought, the Catholic church teaches the worship of Mary (although they will deny such teachings). If Mary was perfect as Jesus was then why did Mary rebuke Jesus? One of them would have had to be wrong. So is Jesus the perfect savior we have followed, who lived a perfect life, died a death He did not deserve, and rose again? This would mean Mary was wrong to rebuke Jesus. Therefore, Mary was not perfect and not anywhere close to where Jesus was. We are not allowed fellowship with God when we sin. This is why Jesus came. Jesus had to come for Mary, His mother, too.
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